


At the Garden

by ErisBaek



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Steve and Bucky go to a hockey game, it was suppose to be a short drabble then I was like "lol lets g o", thats literally it, written by a Penguins' Fan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28682037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisBaek/pseuds/ErisBaek
Summary: Steve found himself growing to genuinely like the sport of Ice Hockey, so he elects to take Bucky to a Rangers' game. That's it. That's the story.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	At the Garden

**Author's Note:**

> So this was suppose to be a drabble but then it turned into a short one-shot and I’m not even sorry. To celebrate the NHL coming back, here is Steve taking Bucky to his first Rangers’ game!   
> I am not a Rangers’ fan, so I apologise if anything about MSG or the team doesn’t line up. I tried to keep details of the game to a minimum. It also hurts that I had the Penguins’ lose, but I couldn’t have their first game together be a losing one!
> 
> Cross-posted from my tumblr @shieldwinter

Steve was having trouble containing his excitement as he and Bucky crossed the threshold into Madison Square Garden. In his hand, he held a ticket for the night’s Rangers’ game. A jersey rested on his person, the crest of the team over his chest, with Lundqvist being the name on the back. A Rangers’ hat concealed his hair, and hopefully offered him a bit of disguise. 

He offered a glance back at Bucky, who was wearing a Rangers’ jersey himself, Panarin the name adorning it. Steve had picked up the jersey when he bought the tickets, knowing Bucky wouldn’t have something to wear, and wanting them both to blend into the crowd better. His hair was pulled back neatly, and when he caught Steve’s eyes, he offered a smile.  
“You’re excited,” he pointed out, and Steve felt himself flush, ducking his head down briefly, before focusing on walking through the metal detector, passing easily and handing his ticket off to be scanned.   
Bucky followed suit, and Steve watched closely as he passed through just fine — his now vibranium arm passing through undetected. 

“I had a lot of free time when I wasn’t running missions. Football was never my thing, and with the Dodgers moving across the country, I kind of found myself liking hockey more and more. The dedication, and resilience the players have is unlike anything I’ve seen before,” he explained, stepping to join the crowd moving towards their section.   
Bucky made a humming noise as he fell into step beside Steve, their shoulders bumping once, then twice. “We had hockey when we were younger,” he supplied, an eyebrow raising as Steve let out a burst of laughter. 

“We didn’t have the means to go to games back then, plus it was nothing like it is now. It’s fast, and exciting. Never a dull moment.” 

Bucky was smiling at him. The smiles were coming easier for him, and Steve was so happy that he was on the receiving end of many of them. It made him feel elated, and an ease settled over him every time he got those lips to lift up.   
Up the escalator they went, rising into the upper bowl. The best seats in the place, if Steve had anything to say about it. Hockey was a game you could watch from any angle, but he preferred to be high up compared to sitting against the glass. 

“We’re down against the rail,” Steve explained as he led the way to their section. When the usher asked if they needed help finding their seats, he waved him off, and set down the stairs that pitched at a steep angle. The chill off the ice rose up to them, even from this height. The grand scale of the arena opened up to them, the scoreboard at center ice, displaying the countdown to puck drop.   
When the two found their seats, they plopped down, and Steve breathed in a deep breath, feeling the chill used to keep the ice. 

Bucky leaned into him slightly, and he pressed back, glancing over at the other.  
“It’s pretty,” he commented, eyes glancing around the arena, watching as people filed in to find their own seats. “Who are we playing?” 

Steve glanced down at his program, looking at the cover where Chris Kreider was pictured mid-shot.   
“The Pittsburgh Penguins,” he answered, an eyebrow raising as he flicked pages to the team rosters, looking at the opponents.   
Bucky’s nose wrinkled, a sight Steve caught from the corner of his eyes.   
“Pittsburgh? They got a player named Malkin, yeah?” 

Steve was surprised, his eyes blinking as he nodded.   
“Yeah, they do. How’d you know?”  
“He’s Russian,” Bucky replied simply, leaning over to stare at the roster page opened up, easily finding the player Evgeni Malkin on the page.   
“I remember hearing his name a few times. Same with other famous Russian ice hockey players. Datsyuk, Ovechkin, maybe a few others. I can’t remember completely.” 

Steve felt himself wilt in his seat slightly. He was banking on showing Bucky the ins-and-outs of the sport, but it never occurred to him that he might know some things. Hockey was a famous sport in Russia, their history in the game incredibly important even in modern hockey. Some of the best players in the NHL today were Russian born, and it never crossed Steve’s mind that Bucky might have picked up a thing or two over the years.   
As if sensing his slight dismay, Bucky looked up at Steve with a signature smirk. 

“Don’t get down. I don’t remember ever seeing a game. There’s definitely things I’m not gonna know, if I even know anything. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen, and I want to learn what your supposed new favourite sport has to offer.”  
And how could Steve not smile at that? He raised his hand to scratch at the back of his neck, and gave a quick shake of his head.  
“Nothing will beat baseball, but I’ll be caught dead before I’m a Yankees fan.” 

He was greeted by a burst of laughter, which made a grin spread to his lips.   
“Better not, pal. I can forgive you for a lot of things, but that? I don’t think I could,” Bucky told, straightening back up into his seat as music began to play through the arena, signaling the players were about to skate onto the ice for their pregame warmup. 

From there, it was a flurry of ups and downs, from puck drop to the ending buzzer. There was little time for the two to talk outside of intermissions, and even then, between standing in line to get food and an overpriced beer, to watching the screens on the scoreboard play intermissions games, and activities, talking of anything outside the game was small.   
Near the end of the first period a fight broke out, and Bucky rose out of his seat with a shout, and all Steve could do was watch, enamoured.   
There were great goals, great plays, and great stops on both sides. Crosby scored, followed by Rust in the first period, but Panarin clapped back with two goals himself early in the second. Bucky was grinning, standing to the goal song each time. In the third, it remained tied for most of the period — until with a little over two minutes left, Zibanejad shot from the point and went high shelf. 

Steve rose with Bucky this time with a yell, clapping to the goal song with a grin splitting his cheeks. The crowd around them was loud, and that would be the last goal of the game, the Rangers coming out on too 3-2. It was all they could’ve asked for, a close, high paced game with a fight, and penalties on both ends.   
The adrenaline was high running even after they left their seats, after they got on the escalator down to the ground floor, and out into the cooling air of downtown Manhattan.   
Bucky seemed to have an ever present smile on his face since the last horn went off. When the crowd dispersed around him, he turned to face Steve, a shine in his eyes that hadn’t been there in a while.

“That was fantastic,” Bucky said, reaching out to grip at Steve’s forearm. “I loved every second. You were right, I can see why you took a shine to it.”  
Steve felt relieved with how much Bucky enjoyed himself. It was a gamble, that the bright lights and crowd wouldn’t be too much for him, but he was grateful he took that gamble. “I’m happy you enjoyed yourself. It helps that they won,” he responded, laying his hand over Bucky’s. 

There was a moment, where they caught each other’s eyes and Steve’s breath was stolen, stuttering in his chest when Bucky leaned forward and rose up on his feet, to press a kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth.  
“Thank you,” he said, voice soft. “For thinking of me, and bringing me. I know you had your options open. Clint probably would’ve enjoyed it.” 

Steve, flustered beyond belief, shook his head.   
“Nah, I bought these tickets with you in mind. You’re always gonna be my favourite plus one.”   
A softer smile this time, appeared on Bucky’s lips. One that was almost shy, one that was definitely reserved for just Steve.

“Damn right.” He responded, before dropping his hand to lace his fingers with Steve’s, and offering a tug, heading down to find themselves a taxi to take back to the tower.   
All Steve could think was that they had to do this again. They had to, because he wasn’t sure Bucky smiled this much in such a short span of time in so long. 


End file.
